138: The first Dan formula shocked the government and the public

The news that the Qian Yuan Cleansing Spirit Pill had been successfully refined spread like a gust of wind, sweeping through every street and alley of the capital overnight.

For the first time, the entrance to the Demon Suppression Division was not shrouded in gloom and misery, but instead crowded with people waiting in eager anticipation.

Although no one had seen the legendary Medicinal Pill with their own eyes, the five words "The Dragon vein is saved" were enough to let a glimmer of light back into the lifeless capital.

"Have you heard? Just one Medicinal Pill, fed to Old Wang the Third in the West City who was about to turn into a living corpse, and in less than half a day, he could get up and walk!"

"That's not all! My second uncle's neighbor works at the Demon Suppression Division and said the light from that Medicinal Pill could illuminate a room, and evil energy would dissolve the moment it touched it!"

These discussions, whether true or false, all pointed to one result—hope. With hope, the people spontaneously began to clean up the filth on the streets, and even bold youths, in groups of three or five, took the talisman papers distributed by the Demon Suppression Division to clear out the insignificant stray demons. The entire capital seemed to be slowly waking up from a nightmare.

The Imperial Palace, Golden Throne Hall.

The atmosphere was completely different from the joyous celebration outside, filled with a sense of grim solemnity.

"Good, good, good!" The Emperor of the Great Xia sat on the Dragon throne, saying the word 'good' three times in a row, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement. He looked at Li Dong and Wei Zheng below the steps, "A single Medicinal Pill can purify the evil energy pollution of an entire block? And it can restore the sanity of the eroded populace?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, the effect is indeed as such." Wei Zheng bowed and replied, his voice drifting slightly; these past few days had felt like a dream to him, "It is just that... this Medicinal Pill is extremely difficult to refine, and the medicinal materials are even more scarce; currently, we only have three."

"Three is enough! Three is hope!" The Emperor slapped the armrest of the Dragon throne and stood up, "Li Dong, Wei Zheng! You two have rendered great service to the nation! Whatever you need, medicinal materials, manpower, gold, and silver, I will open the national treasury for you! As long as you can refine more Medicinal Pills, you shall have whatever you ask for!"

Once these words were spoken, the expressions of many officials in the court became subtle.

Seventh Princess Li Qingxuan stepped out at the right moment, her voice clear and bright: "Father Emperor, Lord Li and Lord Wei have made great contributions, but your daughter believes that what should be investigated further is why the key medicinal materials for refining the Medicinal Pill were almost completely contaminated by the Shadow Council! If it were not for Lord Li risking his own safety, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Her gaze swept over several princes and ministers who had always opposed her: "Who was it that said the Capital City Suburbs were merely suffering from small demons and that there was no need to make a big fuss? And who was it that impeached the Demon Suppression Division for overstepping their authority in investigating cases and disrupting the capital region? Now that the Medicinal Pill has been successfully refined, proving that the threat of evil spirits is imminent, how do these people explain themselves?"

Her words were forceful and resonant.

The few officials who were pointed out turned pale, bowed their heads, and dared not even breathe loudly.

The Emperor's gaze also turned cold. He sat back down and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest: "Li Qingxuan is right. I will hand this matter over to the Imperial Guards to investigate, and we will get to the bottom of it! Anyone who has connections with the evil people of the Shadow Council, no matter who they are, will not be spared!"

With this, the atmosphere in the court became truly cold.

Li Dong stood below, observing his nose and heart, as if all of this had nothing to do with him. He was just thinking, were the Emperor's words meant for those old fogeys, or for himself and the Seventh Princess? The art of being an emperor is truly a troublesome thing.

Inside a stronghold of the Shadow Council located beneath the capital.

"Bang!" An expensive glass cup was smashed fiercely onto the ground, shattering into pieces.

"Qian Yuan Cleansing Spirit Pill? They actually succeeded in refining it!" A hoarse voice roared, "That trash Bone Scythe! Not only did he fail to eliminate Li Dong, but he even lost the medicinal materials!"

"Calm your anger, Elder." A black-shadowed figure nearby whispered, "This Li Dong is too strange, and now he has the full support of the royal Family. The Alchemy room of the Demon Suppression Division is surrounded so tightly that our people cannot get close at all."

"If you can't get close, think of other ways!" The owner of the hoarse voice was another Golden Core Elder, "Pass on my order to issue the Council's 'Highest Bounty Order'! Target, Li Dong! Dead or alive! Additionally, specifically note that this person possesses the 'Perfect Dao Body'. If he can be captured alive, the reward will be doubled, and one can learn a trace of the secrets of the 'Ancient Taboo'!"

"The Highest Bounty Order?" The black-shadowed figure shuddered, "Elder, won't this attract too much unnecessary attention? Those old monsters who have been silent for many years..."

"That is exactly the point—to attract them!" The hoarse voice sneered, "Let all the ghosts and monsters of the entire Great Xia fight Li Dong. I want to see how many lives he has!"

For a time, an invisible dragnet targeting Li Dong, accompanied by the bait of the "Perfect Dao Body", was quickly cast over the entire cultivation world.

Meanwhile, Li Dong was in the quiet room of the Demon Suppression Division, holding the last "Qian Yuan Cleansing Spirit Pill" in his hand. He had not given this Medicinal Pill to the Emperor, nor did he intend to use it on the Dragon vein.

He quietly went to a shelter, which was full of civilians who had been deeply eroded by evil energy and were confused in their minds. He found one of the most severe cases, an old woman who was withered and gaunt, her eyes vacant, and she was just twitching unconsciously.

Li Dong dissolved the Medicinal Pill and fed it to her.

An astonishing scene occurred.

As the Medicinal Pill entered her body, the black Qi dissipating from the old woman's body seemed to encounter a nemesis and instantly dissolved. More importantly, a trace of vitality began to radiate from her withered body, and her originally chaotic Divine Soul began to slowly coalesce.

"Effective... not only can it purify, but it can also nourish." Li Dong confirmed the true value of the Medicinal Pill.

But this brought a new problem. The number of polluted civilians in the capital was in the thousands, and the Dragon vein was even more vast. Relying on these few Medicinal Pills was like trying to put out a cartload of burning firewood with a single cup of water. Want to mass-produce? Just the requirements for the age and Spiritual Qi of the main medicinal ingredients would be enough to make any Alchemy Grandmaster shrink back.

"Still need to think of another way."

Li Dong returned to the quiet room and began to review the entire Alchemy process. He discovered that when he used [Spiritual Resonance] to forcibly harmonize the medicinal properties, his own [Spiritual Domain] seemed to have absorbed the pure aura from the moment the Medicinal Pill was refined, becoming more refined.

He tried to mobilize this new power to analyze the "spiritual essence" of the Council that he had previously absorbed.

"Huh?"

He discovered that he could not only purify these evil things faster, but he could even trace them back to their source, reducing them into a more primitive and purer form of spiritual particles.

"It can be used like this too?" Li Dong became interested, "If I integrate these converted spiritual particles into the Alchemy process, could I lower the requirements for the quality of the main medicinal ingredients?"

Once this thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed. This was simply finding a new path, solving the problem at its root!

Just as he was immersed in this new realization, Wei Zheng rushed in, looking frantic.

"Lord Li! This is bad!"

"What is it, is the Council here to deliver heads again?" Li Dong lifted his eyes to look at him.

"It's more troublesome than that!" Wei Zheng handed over a secret report that had just been intercepted, his face full of gravity, "The Shadow Council has gone mad! They have issued a 'Highest Bounty Order' for you! Now, I am afraid it is not just the Council's assassins, but even those evil cultivators and Devil Heads who haven't appeared for hundreds of years, and even some ancient Families who claim to be of the Righteous Path, are all coming to find you!"

Li Dong took the secret report and glanced at it. On it, his name was written in blood-red letters, along with those four exceptionally glaring words— "Perfect Dao Body".

He curled his lips.

"Tsk, are they treating me like Tang Monk meat?"